As His Family Moves Forward, McCain Backtracks on Gay Rights

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His daughter Meghan has written about how the next generation of the GOP should be more accepting of gay marriage; and just recently, his wife Cindy appeared in a high-profile “NO H8″ campaign speaking out against California’s Proposition 8. But even as the women in his life embrace this progression toward acceptance of gay rights; McCain seems to be doing an about-face, and is now walking back earlier sentiments of supporting a repeal of the shameful “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

McCain touts his experience as a soldier and his status as a former POW constantly – and made it a central theme of his presidential campaign. Now, when a military issue emerges that he is poised to take the lead on, he is shirking that opportunity and regressing.

Speaking to a group of Iowa State students in 2006, he told them, “The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.” Was he simply pandering to a group of people he knew felt more inclusive toward gays? Or is he doing the pandering now, bitter and jealous that he’s not the one calling the shots?

I ask because the “leadership of the military” – Defense Secretary Robert Gates – whose confirmation McCain voted for as a senator – and Adm. Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs, both publicly declared their support of repealing DADT. Oh, and that “Commander in Chief” guy wants it gone, too.

But now McCain is acting like far from a dutiful soldier: he promptly provided Gates and Mullen with a letter he said was “signed by over 1,000 former generals and flag officers who have weighed in” and think DADT should stay on the books. What’s almost comically hypocritical about McCain’s objection (I say almost, because this is people’s livelihood, dignity, and the very safety of our country we’re talking about) is his insistence that we should retain DADT because “At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.” Got that? At this moment of immense hardship we should be turning away skilled, able-bodied soldiers who want to serve. Talk about doing anything but putting “country first.”